Calgary 1

First look at the city of Calgary. 1.1 million Canadians here, with a good 70% wearing cowboy hats. Cool by me. A touch on the expensive side, cab from the airport to downtown was $40 (no shuttles), dinner for two was $50 at Old Spaghetti House and this morning I had to pry Kurt away from a $5.50 cup of coffee at the Westin. I will faux cheerfully drink Happy Hour Guinness Draughts for $6.25 BUT I WILL NOT DRINK A $5.50 CUP OF COFFEE. A guy has got to have some standards, eh?

Expo was a bit on the light side considering there are 1,700 athletes racing in the inaugural event tomorrow. Logistics are a nightmare, as most multi-point tris are. Spent the better part of the afternoon meeting with my moto guy and going over the check points and meet times. It's gonna be a test, but the weather should hold so we'll get out there, mix it up and see what we can do. From what I have seen and heard so far, the course should be picturesque and demanding. A good combination in any province.

A few pix from today's wanderings: Chess in a downtown park. The Weaslehead canyon where the run travels, and the downtown core's 7th avenue, pretty snazzy street sign! (Note: The internest service here at the Ramada is slow as molassas, so I will post the pix later-sorry)